I Knew This Day Would Come

Well, it finally happened. This morning on the way to school, I was asked a question all parents dread being asked. One of the "top 5 most loaded questions", I'm sure.

Brady is a very inquisitive boy and has a great understanding of things far past his maturity level, so I'm actually very surprised that it took this long for him to ask... but here it came:

"Mom, how do you get the baby out of your belly??" 

Now that I type it, I guess I should be happy he was asking about how we will get it OUT instead of how it got IN. I wonder how long I have 'til that one pops up?!

Anyway-- I was caught off guard and wasn't sure how to reply. I hadn't even had my coffee yet! While I'm pretty good at spinning little stories, part of me was afraid to come up with something so fantastical that he'd be spreading it around school in no time. And he's far too intelligent to believe that some giant bird will swoop down from the sky and drop his baby brother off in a basket on our doorstep (no offense to anyone who's kid buys that whole stork business). So I thought to myself, "how do I answer his question so that he's satisfied, but without going into too much detail?"

The answer: I sort of told him... the truth. About his birth, that is. (For those of you who do not know/remember, Brady was born via scheduled c-section after learning at 41 weeks and 1 day that he was breech.)

I told him that Mommy went to the hospital to have surgery on my belly and out came baby Brady! Somewhat gruesome, yes. I wanted to suck it back up into my mouth as soon as it came out, but how else do you describe a c-section?

I am continually amazed at his capacity to grasp things so well. He immediately understood the simplicity of it all and only asked, "did it hurt when the doctors cut open your belly?"

To which I replied, "No, the doctor's gave Mommy lots of medicine so that I didn't feel any pain."

There was a few minutes of silence, and then he just said... "I'm sorry Mom". My heart broke. He is such a compassionate little person, why didn't I think of that before I spoke?? My mind was racing... I didn't just scar him for life, did I?

I said, "You don't have to be sorry. That's just what Mommies have to do to get their babies sometimes. I'm okay."

Then he said, "Look at that huge cement mixer!"

Aaaaand we're onto the next thing, which thankfully, does not involve me, my baby or my vagina.

Has this happened to you? What did you say? Did I handle it all wrong? And better yet, how do I prepare for the "getting IN the belly" question, because I won't be caught unprepared for that one, that's for sure!!

The joys of parenthood!

May is... over. Wow.

I knew it had been awhile since I last posted to the blog, but I was very surprised to see that it had been a full month! So glad I logged in today so that I could get at least one post in for May 2012. I'm such a slacker.

May was a really busy, but really fun month for the Eathertons. The highlight of the month was definitely our bi-annual trip to Chicago. We usually make the trek home every June & December, but with our due date rapidly approaching, we figured a trip in May was probably a better (& safer) idea. We definitely made the right choice. Air traveling at 32 weeks pregnant took its toll on my body-- and by "toll" I mean, I actually carried around an extra 5 lbs. of water weight the day after I arrived. Madness.

Our 8 days in Chi town were a whirlwind of course, but we enjoyed every moment. We got to connect with family and friends we hadn't seen in awhile, like my Uncle Matt and the Sebescaks. My whole family took the day off to take B to the Brookfield Zoo. I had dinner with my besties. We rode the Metra train downtown with Grandma Linda & Grandpa Steve to explore Millennium Park & Navy Pier. I got to attend the baby shower of my good friend Bambi, and see some good college friends. I got to hang with some of my favorite little ladies (Aubrey, Reese, Ashylnn & Claire). We ate lots & lots of delicious "Chicago foods" and drank a boatload of Dunkin Donuts coffee (okay, maybe that part was mostly just me). We took hundreds of pictures. But most importantly, Brady got to spend much needed quality time with his family. He undoubtedly made memories that will last him a very long time!! Here are a few of my fave pics from the trip. The other 300+ can be found here.

 Cousins enjoying dessert together!

Brady meeting baby Reese!

Watering Grandma's flowers 

Our niece Reese

My bro, sis, Dad & me at Brookfield Zoo

Grandma Debbie, Brady & Papa

Daddy & Brady at Millennium Park

 Megan & Reese

Uncle Matt & Reese

It took a bit longer to get back into the swing of real life after our trip, but we're finally settling back into our usual routine. Just in time for everything to change! Brady's school year comes to a close next Thursday and he will begin going to YMCA summer camp 3 days a week in mid-June. He'll also be starting swim lessons (without Mom & Dad!) in early June.

We spent the entire holiday weekend getting Brady's new "big boy" room set up after 3, count them 3 trips to IKEA in 3 days! We hope to get him officially moved out of the "nursery" this weekend. He is beyond thrilled with his new room and asks to sleep down there every single day (we're being held up due to lack of window treatments. It's just way to bright down there for him to nap/go to bed.) The rest of the house is shaping up nicely, after we got rid of a bunch of extra furniture and other odds and ends at our yard sale. Next up-- getting the baby's room decorated and then we'll be ready. Well, ready-ish.

How am I holding up?! So nice of you to ask.

We've been so busy that time has just flown by. It's so hard to believe that we are almost 34 weeks pregnant. While I will undoubtedly go late with this little guy, he could come as early as 37 weeks (when he's technically full term). It's crazy to think we could be a family of 4 in as little as 3 weeks. Scary, really...

I am big, as those near and dear to me often remind me, so it is definitely making the day-to-day activities harder. Things like lifting Brady into his car seat or carts at the grocery store are becoming quite the chore, but I keep trucking on. It's definitely a different experience being 7 months pregnant in May (in CA) vs. November (in Chicago). I'm quickly learning that less is more, especially on a day like today when the high was high 80s!!

All is well with the doctor visits-- baby boy is measuring right on and has been thankfully (knock on wood), head down so far. Yes, I actually had an ultrasound at 30 weeks to prove it. I have my 34 week appt. next week, my 36 week appt. after that, and then I'll start going every week. He'll be here before we know it!!

I hope to post a lot between now and when the baby arrives, as there certainly will be lots to talk about. But if I don't, well, please see photo above and understand that I just might not be able to reach my laptop :)

Life As Brady {3 years, 4 months}

When I wrote the "Day in the Life" post for the TAT link up a few weeks ago, it made me realize that we haven't been keeping a very good record of Brady's "everyday life". Thankfully we recorded his major milestones on this blog along the way, but once he rolled over, crawled, walked, talked, etc... we stopped making so many entries about what it is he likes to do/say/eat/play. So, every few months I'll do something like this to give you a glimpse into what life with Brady is like. If you want to know what it's reaaaaaallllly like, I'd be happy to drop him off at your house for a few days so you can see first hand :)

Stats:
Height-- 38"
Weight-- approx. 30 lbs.
Clothing Size-- 2T pants, 3T tops (definitely on the smaller side)

Activities:
- Brady goes to school 2 mornings a week from 8:30-11:30a. Then he stays on for "lunch bunch" from 11:30a-1p where he eats his lunch and plays with the kids from all the other classes who also stay for lunch bunch.

- He was taking gymnastics once a week, but that is over now and we look forward to swim lessons at the YMCA and soccer (by himself!) this summer. We are also going to look into a t-ball team for him join as well.

An quick interview with Brady revealed these answers to the following questions--

Brady, what is your favorite...

    •    Food-- chicken fingers
    •    Friend-- Lyla & Leo
    •    Teacher-- Teacher Rebecca & Miss Louise
    •    Friend at school-- Johnty & Lucas
    •    Animal-- kikachu bird
    •    Book-- Curious George
    •    Song-- Caterpillar, caterpillar creeping away, you'll be a butterfly one fine day. But first you      have to hang in a "J", then butterfly, butterfly fly away.
    •    Toy-- Excavator truck
    •    Show/Movie-- SuperWhy/Beauty and the Beast
    •    Stuffed Animal-- Chester (a doggie) & King Kong (gorilla pillow pet)
    •    Sport to Play-- Baseball (hitting the ball with a bat)

What do you like to play?
Snuggle. Tag games. All kinds of games.

What is your favorite thing to do with Mommy?
Projects & puzzles.

What is your favorite thing to do with Daddy?
Build forts & chase him.

What makes you happy?
When I read books.

What makes you sad?
When people talk bad.

What are you most excited to do your baby brother?
Push him in the swing very slowly. Feed him milk in a bottle.

What do you like to call your baby brother?
Fitzgibbon, or Fitz.

Things you might hear Brady say these days...

- He ABUSES the word "apparently". To make it worse, he hold things in his fingers (like a pencil or a fork) like a cigarette and repeats the word over and over. I have NO idea where he got this from, but you can tell it makes him feel like a "grown up". So bizarre.

- "Can you put me on a show??" Yes, the boy likes his TV.

- "Where's my bag of toys?" Brady likes to carry around a zip lock bag full of random toys every time we leave the house. My "mom friends" think he's a hoarder.

- "Wanna snuggle?"

- "Can I have a snack?"

Other important details...

- He loves to smell his blankies (aka, his "polka dotties") and sleeps with one hand tucked inside a  corner where the satin border is coming loose.

- He loves to ride on his Strider balance bike (and is getting very good!), but is still trying to get the hang of his scooter. We'll probably get him a bike with training wheels this summer.

- He has become quite find of Tinley lately (lots of kisses and snuggles!) and likes to call him "Tinna Rinawee" (don't ask).

- He loves super heros (especially Batman & The Flash) and "all things fighting" (wrestling, ninjas, swords, pirates, etc.) Oh, and talking in jibberish. It drives Mom crazy!!

A Night at the Park

The White Sox were just in town to play the Oakland A's and we made a last minute decision to attend Tuesday night's game. Too bad they lost (not that we stayed that long). It's funny that Brady's been to 3 White Sox games in his life and 2 have been in Oakland!

We got there early so we could watch batting practice and get close to the players. It was so weird to not have Ozzie there. Unfortunately, we left without a ball or an autograph this time, but Brady still had a blast-- right up until the food supply ran out in the 5th inning, then he demanded that we go home. I have a feeling it won't be too long until he's begging us to stay!

TAT Link Up- A Day In The Life

This week's Toddle Along Tuesday topic is "A Day in the Life" and I thought it was perfect timing, because I have been meaning to do more snapshots of what life with Brady is like on this blog. We chronicled so much of his activity in his first year of life, but once he hit all his major milestones, we just stopped celebrating all the little stuff that makes watching him grow so exciting.

I write a lot of stuff down in his baby book, but I am literally running out of room, and what better place to do it than here?! Because I'll never remember the cute phrases he said, the books he read, or the "hot toy" of the moment 5,10, 15 years from now, no matter how hard I try!

So here's what a Day in the Life of Brady is like, at approx. 3 years and 4 months...

Brady wakes up on his own between 7-7:30am and calls for Daddy. We're lucky in the fact that he actually stays in bed 'til someone comes and gets him, even though he is not in a crib anymore. He only wants his Daddy (which Mom can't complain about now... love me some sleep!) If I try to go in and get him, I usually am told, "NO, not YOU!! Go get Dad." A lovely way to be greeted in the morning, is it not?!

Because Brady is not a "morning person" (I wonder where he gets it?!), he takes some time to warm up to the day. This is usually done by watching a little bit of TV with a small cup of milk.

Breakfast is generally one of the following-- pancakes, oatmeal/oat bran, bagel & cream cheese or yogurt & granola. B is not a big cereal with milk fan, though he'll eat dry cereal with a cup of milk. Brady loves ALL fruits, so we will alternate between berries, bananas, grapefruit, kiwis and whatever else is left from the market.

After breakfast, Daddy heads off to work and Mom and Brady start their day together. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we usually spend mid-mornings at the YMCA. Tuesdays & Thursdays Brady goes to school at Montecito from 9a-1p. We recently started taking him to "lunch bunch" at school and he absolutely loves it, mostly because he gets to play with the boys in the older classes. His favorite school buddies are Lyla (of course), Johnty and Lucas.

We like to spend time in the late morning having playdates with Brady's two best friends Lyla and Leo. We meet at parks and have picnics, go to fun places like the Children's Zoo in Palo Alto or Happy Hallow, or just play in each other's backyards (though we do NOT like sharing our toys very much). We also pass the time going to gymnastics, out for Jamba Juice, or hanging at the mall.

For lunch we typically alternate between peanut butter & jelly, grilled cheese, and bagels with cream cheese. Brady does not like deli meat with makes it hard to eat on the go (why won't he just eat a ham & cheese sandwich??), though he LOVES provolone cheese. Asks for it (almost) every day.

Naps are 50/50 these days. Brady has always been a good sleeper, so if I can get him to actually fall asleep, he'll generally nap for about 2-3 hours (around 2pm-4ish). But some days he just lays in his bed and plays with the 300 stuffed animals in there and refuses to calm down enough to catch some Zs... Boo.

Afternoons are tough. If he naps then he usually wakes up just before I'm ready to start making dinner, so we don't have much time to go anywhere or do anything. He'll watch a little TV (again, slow to wake up), then come into the kitchen to sit at his craft table and color while I finish up cooking. He loves writing in his notebook and actually has a really good grip on his pencil. We practice shapes and letters, and while he doesn't have quite enough control yet, he is starting to get good at tracing and can color inside the lines (in large spaces, of course). I think it's only a matter of time before we get a letter or two under our belts.

Matt works late two nights a week, which means Brady and I are on our own for dinner. We'll typically go out for "date night" one of these nights-- Brady's favorite hot spots are Pizza My Heart and Armadillo Willy's (bbq). The other nights, we are able to eat as a family and it's definitely my favorite part of the day. Brady loves to tell Daddy all about his day; he usually doesn't stop talking!

After dinner it's time for more play. Thankfully the weather is warming up because Brady loves to play a wide variety of sports-- soccer, baseball, golf, lacrosse & football. He is getting really good at baseball and can actually hit a ball when Matt pitches it to him. It's amazing!!

We start the bath/bed routine around 7:30pm and it can take about an hour (45 mins if Mommy's doing it!) Brady still loves being read to, so he gets 2 or 3 books in his rocking chair, a story from Daddy and a song from Mommy in bed. He'll call us a couple of times to come up and check on a stuffed animal or to blow his nose, and I swear he has to go "pee pee" about a handful of times before he finally settles down to sleep... sometimes not until 9:30pm (gasp!)

Then we wake up and do it all again! A Day in the Life of Brady.

Thanks to Mama G at Growing Up Geeky for suggesting this. I look forward to doing something like this on the blog every month!

Easter 2012

We had a wonderful Easter Sunday, despite being thousands of miles away from our families. We started off the day with a small Easter egg hunt in the family room, after Brady ransacked his Easter basket (for a run down of everything that was inside, watch this ridiculous video I made!) and devoured several bunny marshmallows, 2 mini Kit Kat bars and a Reese's peanut butter cup.

After he was all hopped up on sugar, we went for brunch at the Kirkpatrick's where Brady, Leo & Lyla had another egg hunt in their backyard. Competition was fierce, but everybody got a decent load of candy and there was only one almost fist fight. Next year, we might be in trouble...

I tried to get crafty with a batch of Rice Krispies Treats this year-- making large egg-shaped treats filled with M&Ms, small "bird's nests" with green coconut and Robin's Eggs, and smaller egg-shaped treats mixed with peanut butter and dipped in chocolate. I "created" the last idea myself and was amazed that no one else had thought of this before (ie., there were no pins yet on Pinterest). Then I made them... Great in theory, but not so appealing in practice. Let's just say they looked like something the Easter Bunny would... leave behind. Oops! But they tasted good, so I guess that's all that really matters. Guess which ones they are...

Luckily, we got a break in the sucky NorCal Spring weather and enjoyed our time outside for great food and better company. I took a ton of photos, which you can pour though here. But here is a small taste...

We hope you all had a wonderful holiday and we look forward to celebrating with our "family" here again next year!

52:14

52:14

our family needs a makeover!

It's obviously haircut time in the Eatherton household!!

Not sure much more needs to be said.

While Brady certainly does look like a charmer with

this "puffy" do, it's time for a trim.

And Dad?! Well, I'm not sure what it is he's trying to

accomplish with this look, but it is NOT working.

Now- to be fair to the boys,

Mom could use a makeover too

(and more than just a haircut, that's for sure!)

But because I'm the author of this here post,

I reserve the right to not embarrass myself with

my own "before" photo.

More to come soon...